~ Where fingers tap dance…

Strong women, really?!

Today morning I saw a poster on Facebook that said, “Here’s to strong women. May we know them, May we be them. May we raise them.” Nice, huh? And yet, personally I find something seriously lacking in it.

This obsession with women is rather morbid, methinks. In the past it was about grooming her into a perfect ‘slave’ to serve, not that patriarchy has let up now or admitted defeat as yet, but still some of us are better off, to some degree at least, than before. In the present, the focus is on making women stronger. Good stuff really. Yo strong woman, who can carry off work, home and everything else on her slender shoulders. Be strong, fight for what is yours and all the rest of it.

Hello!

How about taking those eyes off women for a change and looking elsewhere? There are others in the equation you know, and they are called men, a whole different gender that also needs to be strong, but sadly aren’t. Errr.. surely you did not think men were born strong or some such balderdash, did you? Don’t be misled by the ‘we are superior’ outlook that you encounter many a time. That is just learned behaviour, what men have been fed from the time they are born and not really their fault. The truth is, they are weak. Yes, I repeat, weak. Anyone who cannot accept the free spirit and independence of others (read women) are weak, no questions asked.

I am curious. WHY is no one bothered about this fact? Do the women raising toasts to *strong* women think, a world of *strong* women will be any good when the other half is raised to be weak? Strong *women* need equally strong *men* to complement them. They are two sides of the same coin.

My request is quite simple.

Before you scream, ‘May we raise them’ meaning raising strong women, stop and think. We need strong men too. Have you thought of raising men to be independent, sensitive and human? Have you removed the knot tying him to your sari pallu? Do you know the meaning of ‘let go’ yet? Have you stopped revelling in your indispensability to the men of your house? (He cannot manage house without me!). Have you stopped measuring your self-worth in terms of how much the men in your family need you?

When you next holler about raising *strong women*, remember to change it to raising *strong CHILDREN* or *strong HUMANS*! Besides, what do you mean ‘raising strong women’?! When have women ever been weak?! A gender that has reached this far, in spite of the oppression and suppression, simply HAS to have been strong already. Wanna bet?

That’s an interesting point – men are no inherently “stronger” than women, yet we don’t see people calling for them! So yeah, an obsessive focus on women when we should be looking at promoting strong human being instead.

“When you next holler about raising *strong women*, remember to change it to raising *strong CHILDREN* or *strong HUMANS*! Besides, what do you mean ‘raising strong women’?! When have women ever been weak?! A gender that has reached this far, in spite of the oppression and suppression, simply HAS to have been strong already.” you said it!!

Brilliant! I am all for equality among the sexes, but more and more I see women stepping up and crushing men under them. As an independent woman, a spouse, and a Mom to a boy, I want my hubby to BE strong and brilliant and fearless. I want my son to see us BOTH be strong, brilliant, and fearless so he can live a life the same. (Stopped by from NaBloPoMo!)

In our context, the ‘crushing’ comes from society mollycoddling the males which keeps them weaker, to which fact they are totally oblivious.
Thank you for visiting/commenting and welcome to Shail’s Nest. 🙂

Raising good humans is the way!Thank you Rob, and welcome to Shail’s Nest. We, here, are still at a stage where the majority believe men are superior to women. 🙂 The ’emasculation’ (which men are not even aware of) is the result of society pampering them as its favorite gender.

This is an awesome post ! I agree with you, Shail, that men and women both should be strong humans. I know a lady, who is a dictator. She beats her husband every other day.(she is perhaps the only one of this breed) Your post should be a lesson for both…. men and women!

I agree. I am raising a Boy and a new born Girl and I want each of them to be strong and resilient. Thats how I was raised. Strong women cannot keep carrying the burden of weak men. The focus of Indian society has shifted since I lived there 20 years ago. Now its about keeping up with the Joneses or Patels and for that you need a working woman bringing in the moolah but she also has to cook, clean, raise kids, obeserve Karva chauth etc..etc., so she has to be strong. There is no medium ground.

About this blog

When my fingers tap dance on the computer keyboard the results are either some tongue in cheek humor, a verse, a short story, a rant or sometimes mere rambling prose that goes nowhere in particular.... You'll find them all. So go ahead, take your pick and be bored to death!!

I believe

"Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self.” ~ Cyril Connolly

The why

“I write entirely to find out what I'm thinking, what I'm looking at, what I see and what it means. What I want and what I fear.” ~ Joan Didion